Revelation, 1 November 1831–A [D&C 68]

Source Note

Revelation,
Hiram Township
Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...
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, OH, 1 Nov. 1831. Featured version, titled “70 A Revelation to Orson Luke Lyman & William,” copied [ca. Nov. 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 113–114; handwriting of
Oliver Cowdery
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
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and
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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; CHL. Includes redactions. For more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
Historical Introduction
On 1–2 November 1831, ten
elders
A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...
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convened a
conference
A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...
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in
Hiram
Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...
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, Ohio, to discuss the publication of the Book of Commandments, a compilation of JS’s revelations.
1
For more information on this conference, see Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.
According to a later JS history, four of the conference attendees—
Orson Hyde
8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...
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,
Luke Johnson
3 Nov. 1807–8 Dec. 1861. Farmer, teacher, doctor. Born at Pomfret, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of John Johnson and Alice (Elsa) Jacobs. Lived at Hiram, Portage Co., Ohio, when baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by JS, 10 May 1831. Ordained...
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,
Lyman Johnson
24 Oct. 1811–20 Dec. 1859. Merchant, lawyer, hotelier. Born at Pomfret, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of John Johnson and Alice (Elsa) Jacobs. Moved to Hiram, Portage Co., Ohio, Mar. 1818. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Sidney Rigdon...
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, and
William E. McLellin
18 Jan. 1806–14 Mar. 1883. Schoolteacher, physician, publisher. Born at Smith Co., Tennessee. Son of Charles McLellin and Sarah (a Cherokee Indian). Married first Cynthia Ann, 30 July 1829. Wife died, by summer 1831. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of...
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—approached JS during the conference and requested to know the Lord’s will concerning them.
2
JS History, vol. A-1, 163. A few days earlier, JS had dictated a revelation to McLellin regarding God’s will for him, but McLellin and his copetitioners apparently desired more direction. (Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66].)
This revelation came in response to their inquiry.
3
JS History, vol. A-1, 163.
The revelation provided more information about the evangelizing duties of the four men specifically and of elders in general. While Hyde, McLellin, and Luke Johnson were all
ordained
The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...
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to the
high priesthood
The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...
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at a conference held in
Orange
Located about five miles south of Kirtland Township. Area settled, 1815. Organized 1820. Population in 1830 about 300. Population in 1838 about 800. Sixty-five Latter-day Saints lived in township, by Nov. 1830. Joseph and Julia Murdock, twins adopted by JS...
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, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, a week earlier, Lyman Johnson was ordained to the high priesthood at the Hiram conference on 2 November.
4
Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831; Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.

After closing the portion of the revelation addressed specifically to the four men with an “Amen,” the document shifts its audience to the church in general and gives additional information about the office of
bishop
An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...
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, as well as counsel to members of the church “in
Zion
A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...
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” about teaching and
baptizing
An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...
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their children and avoiding idleness and greed. The text may originally have been dictated as two discrete revelations, which, like some other revelations closely related in time or content, were then copied together and presented as a single, unified text. All extant copies of the text—whether in manuscript or published form—present both parts as one revelation.
The original manuscript of the revelation is not extant, and the conference minutes do not mention the revelation.
5
See Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.
However, the copy in Revelation Book 1 is dated 1 November 1831 and a heading states that it was “given in
Hiram
Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...
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Nov. 1. 1831.”
6
A 2 November date for the revelation cannot, however, be ruled out. A later JS history places the revelation as the final event of the two-day conference. (JS History, vol. A-1, 157–163.)

John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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and
Oliver Cowdery
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
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copied the revelation into Revelation Book 1, probably soon after its dictation.
7
Cowdery and Whitmer left for Missouri on 20 November 1831 with Revelation Book 1, and the revelation was likely copied before they left. When this revelation was published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, additional verses were included. (Whitmer, History, 38; Doctrine and Covenants 22, 1835 ed.)

Footnotes
1. 1
  For more information on this conference, see Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.
2. 2
  JS History, vol. A-1, 163. A few days earlier, JS had dictated a revelation to McLellin regarding God’s will for him, but McLellin and his copetitioners apparently desired more direction. (Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66].)
3. 3
  JS History, vol. A-1, 163.
4. 4
  Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831; Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.
5. 5
  See Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831.
6. 6
  A 2 November date for the revelation cannot, however, be ruled out. A later JS history places the revelation as the final event of the two-day conference. (JS History, vol. A-1, 157–163.)
7. 7
  Cowdery and Whitmer left for Missouri on 20 November 1831 with Revelation Book 1, and the revelation was likely copied before they left. When this revelation was published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, additional verses were included. (Whitmer, History, 38; Doctrine and Covenants 22, 1835 ed.)

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time of the Lord other to be set apart unto the to minister even according to the first wherefore it shall be an who is worthy & he shall be appointed by a of high priests

And again no Bishop or judge which shall be set apart for this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime save it be before a confrence of high priests & inasmuch as he is found guilty before a confrenc of high priests by testimony that cannot be impeached he shall be condemned or forgiven according to the Laws of the church And again inasmuch as parents have children in that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance faith in Christ the Son of the living God & of & the when eight years old the sin be upon the head of the parents for this shall be a Law unto the inhabitants of Zion & their children shall be baptised for the remission of their sins when eight years old & receive the laying on of the hands & they also shall teach their children to pray & to walk uprightly before the Lord & the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe to the Sabath day to keep it holy & the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors inasmuch as they are appointed to labor in all faithfulness for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord now I the Lord am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion for there are idlers among them & their children also are growing up in wickedness they also seek not earnestly the riches of Eternity but their eyes are full of greediness these things ought not to be & must be done away from among them wherefore let my servant cary these sayings unto the land of & a I give unto them that he that obse[r]veth <not> his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof let them be had in remembrance before the of my people these sayings are true & faithful wherefore transgress them not neither take therefrom behold I am Alpha & Omega & I come quickly Amen

Given a in November first 1831 by Joseph the [p. 114]

time of the Lord other to be set apart unto the to minister even according to the first wherefore it shall be an who is worthy & he shall be appointed by a of high priests

And again no Bishop or judge which shall be set apart for this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime save it be before a confrence of high priests & inasmuch as he is found guilty before a confrenc of high priests by testimony that cannot be impeached he shall be condemned or forgiven according to the Laws of the church And again inasmuch as parents have children in that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance faith in Christ the Son of the living God & of & the when eight years old the sin be upon the head of the parents for this shall be a Law unto the inhabitants of Zion & their children shall be baptised for the remission of their sins when eight years old & receive the laying on of the hands & they also shall teach their children to pray & to walk uprightly before the Lord & the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabath day to keep it holy & the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors inasmuch as they are appointed to labor in all faithfulness for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord now I the Lord am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion for there are idlers among them & their children also are growing up in wickedness they also seek not earnestly the riches of Eternity but their eyes are full of greediness these things ought not to be & must be done away from among them wherefore let my servant cary these sayings unto the land of & a I give unto them that he that observeth not his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof let them be had in remembrance before the of my people these sayings are true & faithful wherefore transgress them not neither take therefrom behold I am Alpha & Omega & I come quickly Amen

Given in November first 1831 by Joseph the [p. 114]

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Document Information
Editorial Title
Revelation, 1 November 1831–A [D&C 68]
ID #
6527
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D2:98–103
Handwriting on This Page
- Oliver Cowdery
Footnotes
1. 12
  Edward Partridge was appointed bishop in February 1831. (See Revelation, 4 Feb. 1831 [D&C 41:9].)
2. 13
  Extant records predating this revelation generally use the term “high priesthood” instead of “high priests.”a After this revelation, the term “high priests” is increasingly used in records.b Although a conference of elders appointed “assistants” to Edward Partridge in June 1831, there is no extant record of a conference appointing Partridge bishop.c A license created for Partridge, however, states that Partridge had been appointed bishop “with and by the consent of the whole church.”d
  (^aSee, for example, Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831; and Minutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831. ^bSee, for example, Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 107 (partial)]; and Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–A [D&C 72:1]. ^cMinutes, ca. 3–4 June 1831. ^dLicense for Edward Partridge, ca. 4 Aug.1831–ca. 5 Jan. 1832.)
3. 14
  An August 1831 revelation explained that one of the functions of a bishop was to “be a Judge in Israel” and “to Judge his people by the testimony of the Just.” (Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:17–18].)
4. 15
  The February 1831 revelation of the “Laws of the Church of Christ” stated, “If he [Partridge] transgress another shall be appointed in his Stead.” This same revelation provided instructions on how to deal with church members who committed adultery or offended other members of the church. (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:10]; Revelation, 23 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:80–83, 88–93].)
5. 16
  According to an 1829 revelation, children were not to be baptized until they had reached the “years of accountability.” Sometime between 1 February 1831 and 7 March 1831, JS revised Genesis 17:11 so that it explained “that children are not accountable before me till eight years old.” (Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18:42]; Old Testament Revision 1, p. 41, [Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 17:11]; see also Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 64.)
  
  Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
6. 17
  See Revelation, 7 Aug. 1831 [D&C 59:12–13].
7. 18
  The “Laws of the Church of Christ” specifically prohibited idleness, stating “he that is Idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garment of the labourer.” (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:42].)
8. 19
  See Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:39].
9. 20
  See Revelation, 15 June 1831 [D&C 56:17].
10. 21
  Sidney Gilbert, who had returned to Kirtland, Ohio, in August 1831 to “procure the necessaries” for his store in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, was similarly told to communicate “that which he hath seen & heard . . . unto my Deciples” in Missouri “that they perish not & for this cause have I spoken these things.” (Edward Partridge, Independence, MO, to Lydia Clisbee Partridge, 5–7 Aug. 1831, Edward Partridge, Letters, 1831–1835, CHL; Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:19].)
  
  Partridge, Edward. Letters, 1831–1835. CHL. MS 23154.
11. 22
  See Revelation 22:6; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 119 [2 Nephi 31:15]; and Revelation, 29 Oct. 1831 [D&C 66:11].
12. 23
  These titles for Jesus Christ were used in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and earlier JS revelations. (See, for example, Revelation 1:8, 11; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 473–474 [3 Nephi 9:18]; and Revelation, ca. Summer 1829 [D&C 19:1].)

Revelation, 1 November 1831–A [D&C 68]

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